Around 20 Azerbaijani migrant workers in Russia have been coerced into fighting on the front line in Ukraine, according to reports cited by Azerbaijani media.

Information obtained by the APA news agency suggests the men were taken from construction sites and transferred to Russian military units without their consent.

One Azerbaijani citizen, who travelled to Russia three to four years ago for construction work, had been employed in recent years at building sites in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, away from active combat zones.

According to the report, he contacted his brother in Azerbaijan on 13 December 2025, saying about 250 construction workers had been forced onto buses and taken to military unit No 11097, part of the 362nd regiment in Russia’s Voronezh region.

The workers were allegedly told they would be sent to the front line in Ukraine.

Nearly 1,000 migrant workers were employed at the site, including citizens of Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The number of Azerbaijani nationals among them is estimated at about 20.

Sources said the construction area was a restricted zone, with access tightly controlled by military checkpoints.

Although the workers were initially assigned to residential and infrastructure projects, they were later taken away in groups to undisclosed locations.

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Reports indicate that roughly half of the workers were removed first, followed later by the remainder.

They were reportedly transported to Voronezh, held there for one or two days, and then transferred to a military facility in Russia’s Rostov region.

The workers were neither asked for consent to take part in the war nor given any documents related to military service to sign.

Despite this, they were allegedly issued military uniforms and subjected to basic training.

Sources claim around 20 Azerbaijani citizens remain with the group and are effectively being held against their will, as preparations are made to deploy them to the Ukraine front.

Contact with relatives is said to be severely restricted, with phone calls allowed only rarely.

Family members have reportedly appealed to Azerbaijan’s embassy in Russia and other relevant authorities for assistance.

Claims of migrant deployment

International media, human rights organisations and Ukrainian intelligence agencies have repeatedly reported that migrant workers in Russia, particularly from Central Asia and the South Caucasus, have been targeted for military service.

Recruitment has reportedly involved a combination of financial incentives, misleading assurances, administrative pressure and, in some cases, coercion.

Investigations by Deutsche Welle and reporting cited by Ukraine’s defence intelligence suggest some migrants have been approached at construction sites, migration centres or detention facilities and offered short-term contracts, legal status or financial compensation.

They later allegedly found themselves assigned to military units involved in the war in Ukraine, sometimes with minimal or no combat training.

There have also been recurring reports of Azerbaijani citizens being killed or going missing after becoming involved in fighting, often after travelling to Russia for work.

Rights groups say the use of economically vulnerable migrant workers for military purposes raises serious concerns about potential violations of human rights, labour protections and international migration norms.

Russia's response

Russian authorities have consistently rejected allegations of forced recruitment.

The Kremlin and the Russian defence ministry say any participation by foreign nationals in the military is voluntary, contract-based and in line with Russian law.

They maintain that no one is compelled to serve against their will and describe claims of coercion as part of what they call an information campaign aimed at discrediting Russia’s armed forces.

Independent verification of individual cases remains difficult because of restricted access to military facilities, limited transparency and curtailed communication between affected migrants and their families.

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Azerbaijan Russia Russia-Ukraine Conflict Kremlin Migrants Military Operation Ukraine attacks